​Yongzheng - An Amphora for the Qing​2017 SOLD for HK$ 140M including premium

The Manchus who overthrew the Ming dynasty are foreigners. When their Qing dynasty is politically stabilized, they are paying an intense attention to relying on the whole of the more than four-thousand-year-old tradition of the Chinese empire. From the reign of Kangxi some workshops in Jingdezhen realize porcelain pieces imitating the antique.

Jingdezhen's chemists and thermal engineers are highly skilled and there is no question of going back to the ancient manufacturing processes. A special effort is made to improve the green glaze imitating the color and transparency of jade, which is named qingci in Chinese and celadon in Europe. During the reign of Yongzheng several hues of celadon glaze are listed.

An amphora vase bearing the imperial mark of Yongzheng appears as a culmination of that development. It was sold for HK $ 17.4M including premium by Christie's in Hong Kong on November 1, 2004, a very high price at that time for a monochrome porcelain, and returns in the same venue on May 31, lot 2888.

The shape of this vase 52 cm high imitates vessels made of metal or porcelain in the Tang period, which are no longer amphorae of the antique type since the pointed lower end used to catch the vessel in its lower part for pouring the liquid has been replaced by a usual flat base for installation. He retains from these Tang models the two lateral handles in the shape of dragons biting the rim. The ornament of the neck simulating bamboo rings is a reference to the Northern Song.

Celadon is also an ancient symbol reminding the development of that glaze in the Longquan kilns under the Southern Song dynasty. The bluish-green glaze of this amphora, thick and translucent and leveled in the recesses, is indeed an achievement directly attributable to the engineering of the Qing.

1733 The Grand Canal in Venice by Canaletto2005 SOLD 18.6 M£ including premium by Sotheby's

​early Qianlong - A Pair of Double Gourds2017 SOLD for £ 14.7M including premium

The porcelains of double gourd type are developed under the reign of the Yongzheng emperor. They reach a great elegance with his successor Qianlong : the much smaller upper bulb is often linked by two handles to the globular lower part. When the technique used for the decoration is among the most refined, these pieces are kept in high esteem by the connoisseurs. The remainder of this essay is limited to vases from the Qianlong period.

The vase without handles that sold for HK $ 252M including premium at Sotheby's on October 7, 2010 over a lower estimate of HK $ 30M was an exceptional piece with its pale yellow background, its height of 40 cm, its long cylindrical neck above the upper bulb and its sgraffiato incisions.

Among the vases with handles let us consider a blue and white 23 cm high with a pattern of lotus leaves, sold for HK $ 24M including premium by Christie's on December 1, 2010.

Pairs are extremely rare. One of them recently discovered in an English country house will be sold by Christie's in London on May 9, lot 99. Each vase has the same shape and size as the blue and white example described above.

In the same style of decoration, the details of both vases in that pair are different. They are painted with flowers and butterflies in yangcai enamels in an accumulation of auspices and symbols of seasons that was probably prepared for the birthday of some prestigious people. For the rebus so enjoyed at the imperial court the butterfly means 'repetition' by homophony, doubling the message of the auspice and the prediction of longevity.

The ground porcelain of this pair is pure white according to a usual practice during the Yongzheng period. Considering that a pink ground has been appreciated under Qianlong for pieces of the same theme, it is possible that this pair bearing his imperial mark was made early in his reign.

1747 The Grand Parade of Qianlong2011 SOLD 22 M€ including premium

Qianlong was only 24 when he became emperor of China. For establishing his authority, he has prepared a huge military parade in the best tradition of the Qing Dynasty. It will be held early in the fourth year of his reign.

The objective is achieved: the power of the young emperor is not disputed. To the delight of current enthusiasts and historians, Qianlong was to become the most important art collector and patron of all time.

At the tenth year of his reign, Qianlong wants to fix the memory of this great revue. He orders the artist Jin Kun to realize four huge scrolls on silk with the help of the official court painters. Fifteen months later (1747 in our calendar), the four works are ready to be assembled in their presentation boxes.

These paintings show the festivities in a chronological order. The second, 68 x 1757 cm, is kept at the Palace Museum in Beijing. The third, 68 cm x 1550, was sold HK $ 68M including premium by Sotheby's on October 8, 2008. The catalog of that sale indicated that the other two were lost.

A miracle happened. No. I do not believe in miracles.

The market for ancient Chinese art has been so boosted for two years (indeed from after the scandal of the bronzes of the Saint-Laurent - Bergé collection) that the treasures come out of the attics: the fourth scroll is retrieved!

With the same height as the others, it is the longest: the incredible multitude of troops occupies 18 m of image. A primer including testimonials and seals increases this length to 24 m, on a diameter of 12 cm when rolled.

This treasure is estimated € 2M, for sale by Marc Labarbe in Toulouse on March 26.

POST SALE COMMENT

The scroll was sold € 17.8 million before fees, 22 million including premium.

The significant difference in price with the auction of 2008 is mainly due to the cultural awakening of China for the most outstanding treasures of its history.

This new price is perfectly understandable and deserved.

I invite you to play the video shared on the web by Interencherses.tv :

1756-1759 Come Back of Rat and Rabbit2009 15.7 M€ including premium, UNPAID

Today, we are not just talking about auctions, but also on international politics. In September, just after the announcement of the sale of the Yves Saint-Laurent collection, Chinese lobbying groups have opposed the sale of two fountain ornaments. The echoes of the press show that these groups are increasingly active.

Twelve bronzes represented the Chinese zodiac in the main fountain at the palace of Qianlong in Beijing. They were the heads of the animals, and water flowed from their mouths at defined times. These figures are neither of Chinese or Western art, but a combination of the two: they were made on the plans of the Jesuit missionary Giuseppe Castiglione between 1756 and 1759.

This all disappeared at the looting of the palace by the Anglo-French troops in 1860, making today the opponents of the sale stating that the bronzes were stolen. Five statues were returned to China, five of them are not localized, and rat and rabbit are each estimated € 8 million in the sale of Christie's and Pierre Bergé in Paris from 23 to 25 February.

This price was announced, but curiously they are now the only lots in this three day sales catalog for which potential buyers must have the estimate confirmed by Christie's. I give you my personal opinion. Such pressure can intimidate a potential bidder. Christie's is perhaps in the process of seeking a buyer whose personality satisfies all parties. This is what Sotheby's did in 2007, when they removed the horse head from an announced sale. Stanley Ho bought it then privately for $ 69.1 MHK and donated it to the Chinese government.

The rat head is 30 cm high. The rabbit is higher ... through his ears!

POST SALE COMMENTAs prepared, rat and rabbit were presented separately. They were sold, both at the same price, € 15.7 million including premium.

The sale of these lots has not finished generating comments. I made two predictions, they have proved false. Buyers were not intimidated. Christie's and Pierre Bergé achieved the process without being intimidated, and therefore without recourse to a private transaction.

We must not forget that the activity that makes the difference between an international auction group and a national or local auction houses is their ability to convince buyers. The work done by Christie's to sell these two bronzes was probably huge.

These were the last two bronzes of the Imperial fountain to be available on the market. This has certainly increased their value.

In addition, the Chinese themselves, with their protests republished by the international press, have shown their interest in this group of works. Their price would certainly have been much lower if the dispute had not occurred.

It is something of a spectacular example which reinforces my premise: the price of an item at auction is a reliable metrics of the cultural importance given to this object at a dedicated time.

Now, five heads are lost. It should be very exciting if these excellent results push some of them to appear on the market.

2013 COMMENT

The travel back to China of rat and rabbit has just been decided.

The Chinese buyer of 2009 immediately said that he would not pay, and Mr. Bergé had kept the bronzes. They later entered into the ownership of Mr. Pinault who now presents them to China. Christie's facilitated this operation.

1760 The Official Portrait of a Concubine​2015 SOLD for HK$ 137M including premium

The Kangxi Emperor favored the contact with Europe. By the 49th year of his reign, the court accepted a suggestion of the Jesuits to invite a painter. The candidature of the lay brother Giuseppe Castiglione was accepted.

Castiglione arrived in Beijing in the 54th year of Kangxi, 1715 in our calendar. The skills of this young man aged 27 appealed to the emperor and he became a court painter under the name Lang Shining. He never left the imperial court. In his outstanding career that lasted half a century without harm or conflict, he assimilated the traditional techniques of Chinese graphic art without forgetting his original training.

The court painters were considered as imperial officials and did not sign their works. Lang Shining and his studio are credited with near certainty for the paintings that incorporate such Western features like perspective or like the shades that enhance the realism of the face.

The official portraits of the Emperor and his favorite Ladies are a tradition in the Chinese court. In the first year of Qianlong, a scroll shows the Emperor and the Empress aside with no less than eleven consort spouses.

One of these eleven concubines remained a favorite until her death in the 25th year of Qianlong, 1760 of our calendar, when this former commoner had just reached the highest position behind the Empress. On October 7 in Hong Kong, Sotheby's sells as lot 3202 her portrait where she is designated in a calligraphy by the emperor's hand under the name of her ultimate dignity, Imperial Noble Consort Chunhui.

According to the imperial tradition, the Lady is sitting on a magnificent throne. She is wearing a robe of highest luxury and a long chain necklace. The face is young and smooth for this woman who died at the age of 47, but the original portrait with the other concubines had certainly served as a modello. The press release of September 1 announces an expected price in excess of HK $ 60M.

The artwork for sale by Sotheby's is a hanging scroll in ink and colors on silk 198 x 123 cm. It is shared on Wikimedia (see below).

On 27 May 2012, Bonhams sold for HK $ 40M including premium a portrait up the waist of the same favorite, oil on paper 55 x 42 cm.

1765 Portrait of a Champion by Stubbs2011 SOLD 22.4 M£ including premium

Serving wealthy English aristocrats, GeorgeStubbs specialized in the topic of race horses. On December 8, 2010, Sotheby's sold £ 10.1 million including premium a very elegant study of mares and foals in a meadow, painted in 1767.

Made around 1765, the oil on canvas for sale by Christie'sin London on July 5 is certainly more outstanding. It is estimated £ 20M. This is the portrait of a horse named Gimcrack, who was winning most of the races where he was engaged.

This broad composition, 102 x 196 cm, simple and effective, is divided into two parts, as seen on the audio shared by Christie's. On the left, Gimcrack shows his beautiful profile, surrounded by a coach, a stable boy and a jockey.

A race is held on the horizon, on the right. A horse is far ahead of his three followers. He is also Gimcrack, of course. He is therefore shown twice on that image that had everything to flatter the sponsor of the work, Lord Bolingbroke, owner of the champion.

Stubbs is very accurate in anatomical detail, but still shows horses galloping with their four legs flying above the ground. This feature, which can be excused one century before the studies of Muybridge, applies here only in the background and provides this work with an undeniable poetic dimension.

POST SALE COMMENT

Sold £ 22.4 million including premium, Gimcrack has once again won his race.

1768 A Venitian Masterpiece by Francesco Guardi2011 SOLD 26.7 M£ including premium

The wealthy English tourists enabled the development of vedute, these realistic paintings of urban scenes of Rome and Venice.

In Venice indeed, in the late 1760s, the uncontested master of the genre, Canaletto, is aging. He died in 1768.

It is certainly no coincidence that the most achieved works of FrancescoGuardi date from the same period: Canaletto's position on the market was to be taken.

In this time of greater maturity, Guardi executed very few large paintings. The view from the Rialto Bridge, an oil on canvas 120 x 204 cm, for sale by Sotheby'sin London on July 6, is exceptional. It is estimated £ 15M.

As ever, the architectures are much detailed. The dense and gentle animation is typical of Guardi, but the cloudy atmosphere and contrasting sunlight are worthy of Canaletto. This work was sold in 1768 : to an Englishman, of course.

1768 From Both Sides of the Rialto​2017 SOLD for £ 26M including premium

A pair of oils on canvases is unique in the history of the vedutas by the conjunction of their monumental dimension, 120 x 204 cm each, with the maturity of one of the greatest artists of Venice, Francesco Guardi. The canvases are wider than the looms in use at that time and a nearly invisible join had been needed in the lower part of the image.

They show the commercial district of Venice, the Rialto, on the Grand Canal on both sides of its spectacular single arched covered bridge which housed shops. Through his picturesque animation and his luminosity, Guardi appears as a worthy continuator of Canaletto.

The sequence of monuments is correct but these panoramas are too wide to respect a unique perspective. The large format brings an abundance of details and an exceptional vision of the Venetian atmosphere.

Guardi worked from the collection of his autograph drawings and the modifications made to the monuments do not allow to date his paintings with accuracy. We will consider 1768 for this pair for two reasons. The death of Canaletto in April certainly generate great ambitions to Guardi suddenly becoming the best supplier of the tourists. The first owner was a young British aristocrat who had his tour in 1768, arriving in August in Venice.

The pair was separated in 2011. The view taken northward was sold by Sotheby's for £ 26.7M including premium on July 6, 2011. The view in the reverse direction is for sale on July 6, 2017 in London by Christie's, lot 25. The press release of 5 April announces that it is expected to exceed £ 25M. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.

1769 Fragonard out of his Time2013 SOLD 17 M£ including premium

Like all painters of his time excepted Chardin, Fragonard varied his styles to find customers. Influenced by Boucher, he early found fame in the theme of very young frivolous women with their games and passions.

Fragonard made a small series of oils on canvas known under the generic title of Portraits de fantaisie. Only one of these artworks is dated : 1769, the year of his marriage. It is not by chance.

Close to the aristocracy, Fragonard endeavours at that time to demonstrate that he may revolutionize the art of portrait. These paintings are comparable to the tronies made by Rembrandt. The likeness to the sitter is not the most important.

The movement of shoulders and head brings energy and even violence. Strong colors evoke passion. Fancy costumes "à l'Espagnole" provide a theatrical dimension that also positions the work out of its time.

Influenced by Chardin, Fragonard understood the importance of color. This series of fantasy portraits is an essential link in the history of art between Rembrandt and Manet. He will be the great-granduncle of Berthe Morisot.

Few models have been identified with certainty. Brilliant intellectual, François-Henri d' Harcourt enjoyed his portrait to the point that his family kept it until 1971.

This oil on canvas 81 x 65 cm was then purchased at auction by Dr. Rau. Coming now from this prestigious collection, it is for sale to the benefit of UNICEF by Bonhams in London on December 5.

POST SALE COMMENT

This painting has some exceptional qualities reinforced by the fact that it was one of the top masterpieces of the Rau collection and was sold for the benefit of UNICEF. It was sold for £ 17M including premium.I invite you to play the video shared by Bonhams on YouTube:

Qianlong - The Vase with Pheasants2011 SOLD 200 MHK$

When the Chinese emperor was powerful, he allowed foreign influences to mingle with the Imperial tradition. In the case of Qianlong, watchmaking, for example, has been a real transfer of technology from England and Chinese imports greatly contributed to the success of Swiss production.

The vases, snuff bottles and brushpots made during his reign reach a high degree of perfection. Shapes are Eastern but the subjects and compositions, sometimes, are European.

The enamels with European themes are named Falangcai ("foreign color"). A beautiful porcelain vase of this type is estimated HK $ 180M, for sale by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on April 7. On a white background, its exquisite painting shows a couple of pheasants on a nest. The balance ot the curves between the bottle and its neck is perfect.

It is 20 cm high, bears the Imperial mark and is illustrated in the press release shared by Artdaily.

POST SALE COMMENTS

1Too expensive. Unsold.

2Yes it was expensive, but a buyer was tempted. The press release from Sotheby's told that this vase has been sold HK $ 200M privately after the sale.

Qianlong - Anthology of the Four Seasons2010 SOLD 140 MHK$ including premium

The ancient Chinese art is a continuum, each new work referencing to past shapes and techniques that can go back to antiquity.

Thus, a pair of enameled porcelain bottle vases 19 cm high made in the Imperial workshops and bearing the mark of Qianlong is an example of extreme refinement with a harmonious synthesis of styles.

The spherical body of each piece is decorated with four medallions showing the flowers of the four seasons, in a festival of colors that imitates the supreme Chinese art of the Beijing enamel glass.

The background of the sphere and the tall arched neck display traditional and Western influences by imitating the themes of enameled copper.

The two vases are illustrated with the same flowers under slightly different arrangements.They will be sold separately at Sotheby's in Hong Kong on October 7.One of them is estimated HK $ 60M.The other, hampered by a long crack, is waiting for HK $ 8M.

POST SALE COMMENT

With HK $ 666M for only 13 lots offered, all sold, the JT Tai collection was an exceptional event within the sales of Sotheby's in Hong Kong.

The two vases discussed in my article were sold HK $ 140M and 32M.

Also Qianlong, a yellow ground famille-rose double gourd vase has been sold HK $ 252M. It had been estimated HK $ 30M.

The above results include the premium.

1779 George Washington at Princeton by Charles Willson Peale2006 SOLD 21.3 M$ including premium by Christie's